By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor

Following each regular season points race, Kickin’ the Tires takes a deep look at the current playoff grids for both the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series, evaluating the postseason picture for NASCAR’s second and third tours. 

Xfinity Series

Track: Daytona International Speedway

Event: Coca-Cola Firecrackers 250

Race Winner: Kyle Larson

Stage Winner(s): Kyle Larson (Won Both Stages)

Who Won Big

• Elliott Sadler: Let’s get the obvious out of the way – Sadler suffered another heartbreaking Daytona loss. But his second-place effort elevated the JR Motorsports veteran back into the points lead, which will soon be good for 15 playoff points.
• Ross Chastain: Another bullet dodged. Chastain scored a top 10 in the Xfinity Series’ final restrictor plate race of the year, keeping his advantage on the playoff bubble alive and well.

 Who Hurt Their Odds:

• Kaz Grala: That’ll do it. Grala did nothing wrong in Daytona. In fact, he finished fifth and lept up the standings. But the Xfinity Series rookie and Fury Race Cars couldn’t find funding to run at Kentucky Speedway, so their playoff pursuit is over.
• Ryan Reed: Daytona wasn’t as kind to Reed in 2018. The Roush Fenway Racing shoe failed to snag a win at his best track, finishing 26th and dropping 18 points out of the top 10. Reed’s hopes of making the playoffs are intact, but he’ll need a summer surge or a victory to secure playoff points.
• Tyler Reddick: The site of Reddick’s season-opening win provided his second-worst finish of the year on NASCAR’s return. The JRM newcomer finished 31st on Friday night, his second-straight result outside of the top 30. The two letdowns have dropped him to sixth in the standings, far removed from the battle for the points lead.

Playoff Standings: 

*Technically ineligible due to missed races. Would require a waiver to make the playoffs.

Playoff Points

Playoff Points Earned On-Track
Rank	Driver	Playoff Points
1	Justin Allgaier	8
2	Christopher Bell	7
3 (tie)	Ryan Preece	6
3 (tie)	Tyler Reddick	6
5	Spencer Gallagher	5
6	Elliott Sadler	4
7	Daniel Hemric	2
8	Brandon Jones	1

Stage Points

Daytona International Speedway Results

Season Totals